Nissan prepares to lay off 20,000 workers due to financial difficulties

Japanese automaker Nissan is facing difficulties, which is why it plans to cut about 20,000 jobs worldwide. This is about 15% of the company's total workforce, Kyodo News reports.

Last November, the company announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs worldwide and reduce global production capacity by 20% by fiscal 2026, citing business difficulties in the US and China. The company is also considering closing one of its Japanese factories as part of its capacity optimization efforts.

In February, the Japanese automaker also said it planned to close a factory in Thailand and two other plants, but did not provide any details. Nissan currently has five assembly plants in Japan. Former CEO Makoto Uchida has expressed a desire to keep them operating. However, new plans to close one of those plants have sparked outrage and opposition from labor unions and some shareholders.

Regarding the financial situation, last month the automaker forecast a net loss of 700 billion to 750 billion yen for fiscal year 2024. These losses, partly related to restructuring costs, could be the largest in the company's history.

The company is now reviewing its investment strategy under new CEO Ivan Espinoza, who took office on April 1. Last week, Nissan also said it had abandoned plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Fukuoka prefecture just months after reaching an agreement with local authorities.

In December 2024, Nissan announced the start of a merger with Honda amid increased competition from Chinese automakers. It could have been a historic deal, but the merger fell apart in February due to Honda's desire to make the Japanese automaker its subsidiary.